What's on TV

BOSTON
— SATURDAY 4/3 Davis Cup (ESPN, 12 noon-2 p.m.): The centennial year gets under way as Great Britain hosts the United States in first-round play in Birmingham, England.

Golf: Links in Time (History Channel, 8-10 p.m.): A duffer's delight. On a scale of bogey-to-eagle, this one's a birdie. Golf's history is profiled through three eras: first a shepherd's game, next an elite indulgence, and now the people's game, almost.

Horatio Hornblower: The Duel (A&amp;E, 8-10 p.m.): This four-part miniseries is based on C.S. Forester's "Mr. Midshipman Hornblower" (1950). In the first installment, Horatio (Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd) comes aboard his first ship, an untried boy of 17 who is bullied by an older midshipman while he learns the ship's pecking order. Continues April 11, 18, and 25. (TV-PG)

PICK OF THE WEEK

Baseball (ESPN, 8-11 p.m.): Recharged by last season's scintillating home-run derby between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, America's pastime heads south of the border in search of more fans. The Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres play in Monterrey, Mexico, in the first season-opener ever played outside the US or Canada. Ol!

MONDAY 4/5

Ultimate Guide: Ants (Discovery, 9-10 p.m.): Sometimes creepy, but mostly intriguing. A lot of little-known facts about the little creatures: A worker ant is less than one-millionth the size of a human, but put them all together and they'll outweigh the human race.

Journey to Planet Earth (PBS, check local listings): Narrated by Kelly McGillis, this insightful three-part documentary examines the state of four of the world's river systems: the Mississippi, Amazon, Jordan, and Mekong.

WEDNESDAY 4/7

Robert Rauschenberg: Inventive Genius (PBS, 10-11 p.m.): A fascinating documentary that says as much about the maestro's creative process as it does about his history. Rauschenberg's interactions with important artists like Jasper Johns and James Rosenquist have had an immense effect on the development of art. As one art historian points out, Rauschenberg hopes his art will change the way people see, and thus how they think. Dennis Hopper narrates.

FRIDAY 4/9

"The War on Boys" (PBS, check local listings): Should women take up combat roles? This National Desk edition looks into the issue. The feminist agenda, political correctness, and the Beltway bigwigs come in the line of fire.